Forbes columnist Steven Salzberg and author-investigator Joe Nickell will each be awarded the 2012 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, to be presented by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry at the CFI Summit in October.

Charles Darwin Celebrations At Nairobi National Museum

April 18, 2011

The participants, who were mostly
students from different on-campus groups, were very keen to follow the
arguments that were made by the different speakers.

On February
12th 2010, the Center for Inquiry–Kenya organized Charles
Darwin Celebrations at the Nairobi National Museum. The Nairobi National
Museum hosts the remains of Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus
that were discovered by Richard and Louise Leakey in 1972 and 1975 respectively.
The need to see such evidence of the evolution of man has indeed made
the place an attraction to most notable scholars around the world.

Undeniably, CFI–Kenya chose to hold the celebrations at such a location in view
of the fact that it could refresh the memories of the participants about
the evolution of man, and see some evidence that supports it. At the
event’s first session, the invited speakers presented papers on the
topic of evolution. This was followed by a storming session in which
the audience interacted with speakers and asked questions surrounding
the cases against and for evolution. The participants, who were mostly
students from different on-campus groups, were very keen to follow the
arguments that were made by the different speakers.

Nairobi National
Museum

The most thrilling
engagement was a debate on creationism. Most speakers held the point
that creationism has put forth claims that can
not be tested and are therefore beyond the realm of science, and that
all the peripheral claims that have been
put forth by most creationists have been proven false by testing—hence
they are simply mere beliefs. Nevertheless, most speakers noted that
despite the fact that the creationists’ beliefs have been proven wrong,
most religious fundamentalists in Sub-Saharan Africa have refused to
accept the evidence and have continued to lobby for the forceful teaching
of creationism in schools.

Participants of the University of Nairobi at the venue place

In addition,
the disappointment put forth was that public understanding of science
is still very poor in sub-Saharan Africa. Of course, in many republics
of Africa, science has continued to be thwarted by practices which are
influenced by local customs and values. These behaviors and practices
are deeply rooted in traditional beliefs and superstition not easily
displaced by science or by modern approaches based on new knowledge.

At the end
of the celebrations, it was observed that most African countries have
not sufficiently addressed the acquisition of scientific knowledge.
This is the major reason that witchcraft accusations are
widespread on the continent. Many people are
at a risk of being lynched simply because of a population that lacks
rational approaches to various phenomena. In some parts of rural Africa,
HIV/AIDS is still being linked to witchcraft. A child born with the
symptoms is seen as a curse to the parents and is either abandoned,
fed poison or hacked to death. Epilepsy, too, is a disease that the
same societies believe to be a result of witchcraft.
People do not appreciate having children with certain disabilities,
simply because of scientific ignorance;
most live in fear most of the time in such a society.

This indicated
that African countries should redouble their efforts with a strategy
that begins with popularization of science. This requires
a kind of empowerment that must be pumped into the brains of the coming
generation, mostly those who are currently studying
at the higher learning institutions. For this commitment, CFI–Kenya
assured the audience that it would continue to organize events that
promoted good science, reason and freedom of inquiry.

The event proved
useful and CFI–Kenya will continue to organize the event every year,
for this is one of the best ways to promote public understanding of
science.

Content copyright CSI or the respective copyright holders. Do not redistribute without obtaining permission. Thanks to the ESO for the image of the Helix Nebula, also NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team for the image of NGC 3808B (ARP 87).